Before
by pinkstarstudded
Summary: The PC in pre-school. Can the tots stir up drama already? Please R&R! Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Clique, or it's characters, or any of its concepts, or any of that other stuff. It belongs to Lisi Harrison.**

"OWIE!" wailed four-year-old Massie Block. "Your huwtin' me Mommy!" She winced as she drank her orange juice through a straw.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, but don't you want to look cute on your first day of school?" Kendra Block cooed, pulling Massie's hair into a high ponytail and tying it with a shiny red ribbon. "Alright, we're all done. Are you ready to go?"

"YAYYYYY!" cried Massie, slipping on her black ballet flats, which went adorably with her knee-length, dark purple dress. "C'mon Mommy!"

"Wait up, Honey! Mommy's coming!" Kendra yelled after her only daughter.

Massie raced out the door of the enormous estate, giggling with glee. It was her first day of school at Westchester Pre-School. Massie skipped around the pool and did a happy little dance. The sun was beginning to shine through the puffy white clouds. _I can go swimming after school! _Massie thought joyfully. Then, she performed a cartwheel, just like she learned at gymnastics camp that summer, and sprinted out the big black gates. Massie skidded to a stop right in front of the Blocks' driver, Isaac.

"Hello, Massie dear." Isaac smiled down at the toddler.

"Hi Isaac! Ish my fiwst day o' school!" Massie stated proudly and bounced on her toes. "I'm gunna pway games, an' make fwiends an' dwaw pictures an'…"

"That's wonderful, Massie!" Isaac interrupted. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, but we hafta wait for my mommy," Massie replied, turning toward the estate.

Just then, Kendra came jogging out the door and toward the car. "Ok, let's go," she panted. Isaac, Kendra, and Massie piled into the car. As soon as they were settled in and Massie was placed in her car seat, Isaac started the car. "Okay, Massie, lets go over what we talked about yesterday," Kendra said sweetly.

"Oh-kay!" giggled Massie. "Make fwiends, don't be shy, wisten to da teacha, have fun, an'… um an'…"

"Remember, the most important one," Kendra told her.

"Oh yeah! Be da best Bwock I can be!" Massie said happily, remembering her mother's words from the previous day.

"Yes!" Kendra yelled, giving the toddler a high five. "Your father and I are so proud of you." She sighed.

Massie nodded and clapped her little hands together excitedly as Isaac pulled up to Westchester Pre-School. She pressed her face up against the cold glass of the window. Outside, a mob of toddlers and their parents were talking and playing. A grin formed in Massie's face. _Soon, I'll be in school! _Massie thought joyfully.

"Ok, Massie, this is it!" Kendra unbuckled her seatbelt, slid open the door, and hopped out. She lifted Massie out of her car seat and placed her on the ground. "What do you say to Isaac, Sweetie?"

"Thank you!" Massie yelled into the car.

"You're welcome, have a good day!" Isaac replied.

"Bye bye!" said Massie, waving.

As soon as Isaac left, Kendra gripped her daughter's hand and they walked toward the school. They passed hundreds of people, but Massie didn't recognize one of them.

"Mommy, are any of my friends here?" she asked.

"No, Massie, all of your friends are at Westchester Elementary now," Kendra told her.

"Awww," whined Massie.

"C'mon Honey, you'll make new friends. It'll be fun!" Kendra tried.

"Okay…" Massie said reluctantly.

"That's my girl," Kendra said proudly as they approached the front desk.

"Hi there!" said a perky blond woman. She squatted down to see Massie at eye level. "What's your name?"

"My name ish Massie Bwock," stated Massie. "And this is my mommy," she said, looking up at Kendra.

"Hi, Massie!" the woman said enthusiastically. "My name is Julie. I'm the teacher." Julie looked up at Kendra. "You can sign Massie in on the pink sheet," she told Kendra.

"Ok, thanks," said Kendra, scribbling on the pink sheet. "Massie, be good, ok? I'll see you in a couple hours." She gave Massie a kiss on her forehead, and then she was gone.

**Yeah, I know that's not really Massie's personality, and there are a lot of things that don't fit in with what the book says (the Blocks didn't get Isaac until Massie was in 3****rd**** grade [see Invasion of the Boy Snatchers] etc in this story, but this is just how I imagined it. This is my first fanfic, and it's probably not my best writing, but I just got the idea so yeah. Hope you like it. Please rate and review. I have the next chapter and I'll post it later today if you guys like it. Thanks so much!!! ~gummychoco**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Clique, or it's characters, or any of its concepts, or any of that other stuff. It belongs to Lisi Harrison.**

Massie sat on a little red chair in the Westchester Pre-School room, her chin resting on her hand, listening to the cries of her new classmates. She missed her mother, but refused to cry, because she knew she was stronger than them. She searched the room for a familiar face in the chorus of screams, but found none. _This is NOT what I wanted from school _thought Massie. Then, she noticed a dark-haired boy in a baseball cap and a red T-shirt approaching her, the only other kid in the room who wasn't crying. He was dragging a blond-haired boy who was crying his eyes out by the wrist in Massie's direction.

"Hi!" said the dark-haired boy. "My name is Cammie! Cammie Fisher. And this is my best friend, Derry Harrin'ton," Cammie said, giving the crying boy a gentle tug.

Massie looked up. "Massie Bwock." She told them. Then she noticed Cammie's eyes. One was blue, and the other was green. _How weird! _Massie thought. "What's wong wiff your eyes?" she asked curiously.

"Notin', der just diffewent cowors," Cammie replied.

Massie squinted in confusion, then lost interest. Then she turned her focus to Cammie's friend, Derry.

"Oh, sowwy about Derry. He can be such a cwybaby sometimes," Cammie said, noticing Massie staring. "He'll get ower it."

"Ok." Massie shrugged.

"Alright class, lets all sit down on the blue rug!" yelled an overly enthusiastic teachers helper. Slowly, toddlers began to form a circle on the rug. Massie sat between Cammie and a girl with 10 brown braids and a dog T-shirt. On Cammie's left sat Derry.

"Hi everyone!" said Julie as soon as everyone was seated. "I believe I met you all before class started. Now, turn and introduce yourself to the people next to you."

Cam giggled, he already knew both of the people next to him. Massie turned to the girl with braids. "Hi, I'm Massie!" Massie told her.

"I'm Layne Abeley!" said the girl.

"I'm Massie Bwock," answered Massie.

"Hi Massie Bwock! Let's be fwiends!" Layne said.

"Ok," giggled Massie. _Yay! I have friends already _thought Massie.

"Now that we all know the people around us, let's go around the circle, say our names and something about ourselves," Julie announced, holding a shiny blue stick. "I'll go first. My name's Julie." She passed the stick down to a plump redhead on her right.

"My name's Dywan," she told them. "I wike cookies"

"Ok, Dylan, pass the stick to her," said Julie, pointing to a blond girl with pigtails, whose eyes were still red and puffy from crying.

"Hi, I'm Kwisten," she said with a wave. "I pway soccer." She handed the stick to a tall girl with long dark hair.

"I'm Alicia," the girl said proudly. "My daddy's a lawyer." A chorus of "ohhhs" swept over the room, although most of the toddlers had no idea what a lawyer was.

Finally, it was Massie's turn. "I'm Massie." She spoke confidently, just like her mother told her to. "I have a wittle bwack doggie named Bean." Then she passed the stick to Layne.

* * * * * * * *

The rest of the day passed quickly for Massie. When the teacher announced it was time for lunch, Massie pulled her brand new lunch box out of her cubby and dashed outside with her classmates. It was warm outside, perfect weather for eating lunch. Massie scanned the lunch area, looking for a table to sit at.

"Massie!!!" a voice yelled. She whirled around. Layne was up on top of a green and brown wooden table, waving and dancing. "Come sit wiff me!"

"Kay!" Massie called back, and skipped off towards the table. Cammie and Derry followed her. "Hi!" said Massie when she reached the table. Layne patted the bench next to her for Massie to sit down. Cam and Derry sat across from them.

"What do you have for lunch today?" Massie asked her friends.

"Cold pasta!" Layne replied first.

"Chicken an' apples," answered Cammie.

"A san'wich," mumbled Derry.

"Oh, I have cwackers an' cheese," Massie told them.

She and her new friends talked all lunch. _This is so much fun! I love school, _thought Massie. But she couldn't help notice a certain group of girls. The dark haired girl, whose name was Alicia, as Massie remembered from that morning, was bossing Dylan, the plump redhead, and Kristen, the petite blond around. She was telling then what to eat, what to play, and how to act.

"Let's chase boys and tease them!" Massie heard Alicia say. _What fun is that? _Massie wondered. She tried to focus on her conversation with Layne, Cammie, and Derry. But she couldn't help but peek over at those girls every once in a while when her new friends weren't looking.

* * * * * * * *

"Hi Sweetie!" Kendra Block excitedly jogged over to her daughter and gave her a bear hug. "How was your first day of pre-school?"

"Gweat!" Massie replied with a wide grin. "Come meet my new fwiends!" She skipped off towards Layne, Cammie, and Derry. "Dis is Layne, Derry, an' Cammie!"

"Hi!" Kendra knelt down on the woodchip-covered ground. "Layne, is your mommy's name Marie?"

"Yeah!" Layne answered.

"Oh, well then, can you tell her that Kendra says 'hi'?"

"Ok!" Layne said.

Kendra got up and brushed her knees off while Massie said bye to her friends. "Looks like you had a good time today. What else happened?" she asked as they were walking to the car.

"Well, at wunch, some giwls in my cwass were chasing boys!" Massie relied.

"That's not very nice!" Kendra told her. "I hope you didn't join them."

"Oh, no Monnmy. I wouldn't do dat. Dey were mean giwls."

"Good," said Kendra as they entered the car.

**Well there's the next chapter. Hope you liked it. I have about half of chapter 3 written, so I might post tonight. Please review, I'm always glad to know people other than my best friends like my stories. Thanks! ~gummychoco**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Clique.**

"Ready for another day?" Kendra asked as she held Massie's little hand and led her to the building.

"Yup," Massie answered, still a little groggy.

"Good," Kendra said as she opened the door for herself and Massie. "Have a good day." She gave Massie a peck on the cheek, and then hurried off to her yoga class.

It was the first day of Massie's third week of school. She scanned the room for her friends. "Cammie! Derry! Layne!" she shrieked as she ran towards them, giving each one a hug.

"Hi Massie!" Cammie greeted her with a smile. "Wets pway wiff bwocks 'til the teacher calls us."

"Kay," replied Massie. She built a tall tower. "Wook! I made a tower!" Massie yelled happily.

"Cool!" said Layne, who was putting the final touches on her structure. While Massie was raving about her friends' creations, three girls were approaching them. Or rather, stomping towards them. The ground vibrated, causing the structures to fall.

"Awww," whined Layne. Derry started to cry, and Cammie tried to comfort him. Massie recognized the girls as the bossy ones who chased boys. She looked up at them with her hands folded at her chest.

"Crybabies," Alicia noted, hands on her hips. She turned to Massie, who was seated on the polished wooden floor. "Hi there," Alicia said in a moderately mocking tone. "Wanna help us bug the teacher?" Alicia's friends stood behind her, looking around the room nervously.

"Aliciaaaaa," Kristen whined. I don't wanna bug the teacher! We'll get in twouble and my mommy will punish me!"

"Alright, then if your too scared, hang out with the big crybabies over there," Alicia told her sternly, pointing to Massie's friends. Kristen shut her mouth and hid behind Dylan, letting out a whimper.

"Are you coming?" Alicia asked Massie impatiently. She twirled her dark hair around her finger.

"No, dat's mean! My mommy told me to wespect da teacher," Massie blurted.

"Fine," said Alicia, as she turned and stormed away in a huff. She walked up to the teacher. "Teacher, Massie won't play with me," Alicia said innocently.

"Why not?" Julie asked.

"I don't know," Alicia told her. Julie took Alicia's hand and led her to where Massie and her friends had resumed playing with blocks.

"Massie, why won't you play with Alicia?" Julie asked her.

"'Cause she wanted to—" Massie noticed Alicia glaring at her. "Ok, I'll play."

"Well maybe you could play with her at lunch. Class is about to begin," Julie told her.

"Kay," answered Massie with a sigh.

**Sorry, that was a short chapter, but I wanted to make the next part a chapter by itself since it's pretty long. Please review! Thanks so much for reviewing, it really makes me happy. ~gummichoco**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Clique.**

I am SOOOOOOO sorry I haven't put a new chapter up for a couple of months! Its just school is so busy, and then I have softball, well, you know how it is. So, I'll try to put a new chapter up AT LEAST every couple weeks. Enjoy the chapter; it's an important one!!!

Layne and Massie silently shuffled over to their lunch table while sudden bursts of wind nearly blew them over. _Shuffle shuffle. Shuffle shuffle. _Massie couldn't stop thinking about her encounter with the mean, bossy group of girls that morning. _I can't believe they wanted to bug the teacher. It's almost like they wanted to get in trouble,_ Massie thought as they approached the table. They plopped down on the back half of the bench, the front reserved for Derry and Cammie, who were just now coming out of the building.

"That was fun!" Layne broke the silence, referring to the painting they had done just before the lunch break.

"Yeah, I know," replied Massie.

They talked for over half of lunchtime with Cammie and Derry. Massie eventually forgot about the mean girls and focused on her conversation about flowers with Layne.

"My favowite fwower is a pansy," Massie told Layne.

"Well mine is a d---" Layne was interrupted by a loud, confident voice.

"Oh, who cares," Alicia appeared out of nowhere and put her hands on her hips. Then, she turned to Massie and said, "You promised you would play with me now."

"Uh…" Massie glanced nervously at her friends for help, but all she got were frightened stares. "Ok…" Massie said reluctantly.

"Good. Let's go chase those boys," Alicia commanded, pointing to a group of boys swinging on the monkey bars. Alicia then ran off to collect Kristen and Dylan. _I don't want to chase boys! That's mean, _Massie thought to her self.

"Alicia, I don't want to chase boys! That's mean and we'll get in twouble!" Massie stated boldly.

Alicia opened her mouth, probably to yell at Massie, when Kristen cut her off. "Yeah, she's wight!"

"Fine then, you two goody-goody teacher's pets can go talk about flowers!" Alicia screamed. Kristen and Massie put their heads down. "Let's go!" Alicia yelled louder than necessary, and marched off. The others followed.

"Alicia, how are you gunna chase them anyways? You can't run, remember? Dylan asked.

"Oh, Dylan, don't tell me you're on their side." Alicia scolded, glancing at Kristen and Massie.

"I…I'm not…I…I was just…just wondering," Dylan stammered.

"Well, I'll walk-chase them then," Alicia stated. "There they are!" she told them as she began to speed-walk towards them. Dylan reluctantly followed. Massie and Kristen froze. "C'mon you guys! Run!" Alicia commanded. Kristen and Massie, startled, began to jog behind her. The boys spotted the girls running towards them and sprinted off.

"Alicia! Dylan! Kristen! Massie!" Julie shouted from behind them. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Chasing boys," Alicia replied, matter-of-factly.

"Well, girls, that is very mean, and I'll tell all of you're parents what happened when they come to pick you up. If it happens again, you'll have to miss one of our fun art projects, and I don't want that to happen, ok?" Julie lectured.

"Kay, the girls muttered.

As soon as Julie left, Kristen began to cry. "I told you we would get in twouble! My mommy will be so mad!" she sobbed. Dylan tried to comfort her, while Alicia stood over them, shaking her head. Massie wanted to cry to, but she told herself she wouldn't. Not in front of Alicia. She snuck away from Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan, and sulked back to her friends.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Clique**

"Massie, your teacher told me what happened today." Kendra told her daughter, looking both angry and concerned at the same time.

"Well, rem'ber the mean giwls who were chasing boys that I told you about?" Massie asked. "They forced me to chase boys with them."

"Honey, I thought you told me that you weren't going to play with them!" Kendra exclaimed.

"I-I didn't w-want to b-but they w-were s-so mean!" Massie stuttered on the verge of tears.

"What did they do to you?" asked Kendra, her anger fading a little bit.

"They yelled at me and called me a teacher's pet, Mommy," sobbed Massie.

"Sweetheart, I know it's hard to say no to them, but you have to stand up for yourself," cooed Kendra. "Even if they make you feel bad, just try to ignore them, ok?"

"Ok Mommy," Massie sighed. "I'll try my best."

* * * * * * * * * The sun shone brightly through the massive window in Massie's bedroom on the second floor of the Block estate. Massie sulked into her room and plopped down on her purple suede down blanket. Massie loved her room. She lay on her back, playing what had happened at school over and over in her head. _I shouldn't have listened to them. I shouldn't have listened to them. I shouldn't have listened to them._ Her thoughts mocked her, laughing at her actions. Massie flipped onto her stomach and grabbed her sketchbook, in attempt to forget her mistake. _Strength. I have to have strength. Like what Mommy said. _As soon as her pencil hit the clean, fresh paper, Massie was swept into her art, unresponsive to the world around her.

The grand, blizzard-white door opened with a creak, interrupting the silence. Massie's head was mere centimeters away from her drawing, sketching furiously.

"Massie?" A man's voice called. "Mass!"

Startled, Massie's head rose and whipped around. "Hi Daddy," she mumbled, looking down.

"Wutcha drawing?" asked her father with genuine curiosity.

Before she could answer, William Block's eyes drifted towards his daughter's paper. A small, frail girl was illustrated, trapped in a deep hole. On higher ground, on one side of the hill, three blobs that appeared to be monsters were grinning. Before William could see who was on the other side, and what they were doing, Massie slammed the sketchpad shut, and replied with a coarse, "Nothin'."

Her father gave her a close-mouthed smile, and plopped on the mattress next to her, causing Massie to bounce upwards, but she was too upset to giggle, or even playfully yell at him for ruining her duvet.

"Daddyyy, I know what you're gunna say," Massie began.

"You do?" William faked surprise. "What was I going to say?"

"Dat I needa be good at school and wespect eveweyone. And dat I hafta learn what is wight and wong."

"That's good too, but I'm not mad at you," Massie's father told her.

"Why not? You should be," sighed Massie

"I'm not mad at you for misbehaving, sweetie. I just wish you didn't think you had to follow those mean girls."

"Whaddayou mean?" wondered Massie.

"I mean," William continued. "You're a leader Mass! You should set good examples for others, not follow other people!"

"But that's hard!" Massie whined.

"That's why you're the one for the job," William explained, as he patted his daughter's shoulder and walked out of her room.

**:) Review!!!~~~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Clique. **

**AN: So I started this fanfic when I was in 7****th**** grade. I have a short attention span haha. I just read it again and it's almost done so I figured I would finish it, just for fun…**

_"That's why you're the one for the job," William explained, as he patted his daughter's shoulder and walked out of her room._

Massie lay flat in her bed, staring aimlessly at the sparkling, star-studded mobile that spun gracefully over her head. Although her fragile body was still under the soft suede comforter cover, her mind seemed unable to rest. Thoughts conversed with each other, taking over Massie's brain. _Why do I have to be the one who does all this hard "leading" stuff? It's not fun at all! It would be much easier if I could just do what someone else says. Why me? _she asked herself. Massie glanced over at her clock, perched on her dresser – 9:30. After a long day like today, she would usually fall asleep the minute her eyes shut, but today she found herself as restless as the effervescent ideas and questions that bounced through her head.

_Wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to decide anything?_

After another 10 minutes of sleepless agonizing over how unfair it was, Massie tried a new tactic-pushing it out of her head. She tried not to think about it for another second, telling herself that it would all turn out okay if she stopped worrying. Massie cleared her head, attempting to keep her mind busy by thinking about the new dog that her mom had promised her the week before, what she would name it, what clothes she would buy for it.

But when she let her mind wander, even for a second, the only thing it seemed to want to think about was Alicia, being a leader, Alicia, standing up for herself, Alicia, what she wished she had done, Alicia, what her parents had said to her, Alicia, Alicia, Alicia. Massie just couldn't stand how Alicia had talked to her, and the fact that she had been weak enough to just follow her. She didn't think she knew much about being a leader, but she was pretty sure that wasn't something that a leader should do. Massie knew she had better ideas that Alicia. She knew she was just, well, better than Alicia. _How can I prove that, though? _Massie wondered to herself.

_I am a leader, _Massie decided. She told herself this, again and again. But her mind still doubted her. What if people didn't like her for it? What if people laughed at her? What if no one else liked her ideas? What if she wasn't born to be a leader after all? Maybe it would be better if she could be like Layne or the other, quieter girls in her class. No one ever bothered them. No one ever questioned them.

As she contemplated this, Massie remembered something her father had told her the previous summer. It had felt like years ago, but Massie remembered it now as clearly as she did seconds after it flowed wisely out of her father's mouth.

"_When I gwow up, Daddy, I'ma be rich 'n powerful wike you!" Massie had informed her dad as he pushed her on the swing of her semi-private playground. The wind whistled by her as she felt the cold breeze on the tips of her ears, swinging back and forth, back and forth, each time feeling her father's strong hands on her back. Her chestnut-brown waves sailed free in the wind as a gleeful smile lit up her entire face._

"_Sounds good to me, hon," chucked William. "Promise me you'll remember one thing though, when you're up at the head of your super-rich company, okay?"_

_ "What, Daddy? What is it?" Massie pressed._

_ "Well Mass," he continued. "You gotta remember: Sometimes, even though you're the best one out there, your job is the worst. You know why?" He didn't wait for a reply. "Because you have to be the one who starts everything. You have to be the one who tells people what they can and can't do. You have to be the one who's in charge. And even though you always get your way, people might not like your way. They might make fun of you or dislike you, but that's okay. You just have to remember that you're better than them anyways_. _We're better than them anyways. We're better than them anyways."_

_ "Yeah Daddy! We're better den 'em!" Massie chirped. _

Suddenly, Massie knew what she couldn't be one of those "quieter girls." She knew why she had to be the leader. Everything had to be her way. If she knew what she wanted, why would she ever let anyone tell her what to do? She couldn't stand to follow what others did. She couldn't stand to be in the background. This kind of mentality wasn't always fun or easy, she decided, but she wouldn't and couldn't have it any other way. Massie Block was born to be on center stage. At least, that's what her father had always said.

Massie sat up in her bed and flicked on her lamp, casting a dim light over her headboard. She pulled the sketchbook out from under her pillow, where she had hidden it when her father had come in to talk to her, and flipped to the picture she had been working on. On the frail girl in the hole, she doodled a pretty white party dress, and next to her a small black dog. Smiling, she flipped her pencil over, erasing a part of the hole, only to make it bigger. Massie sketched furiously, building herself an entire city in the hole, complete with shopping malls and playgrounds. Yes, this was Massie's world.

**AN: So, there'll probably be two more chapters. That was fun. I can't believe I started this so long ago. Review? (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Clique.**

Massie felt a surge of apprehensive excitement as she hopped out of the Range Rover and made her way towards Westchester Preschool. The fall breeze brushed against her cheek, as if it knew the same frigid sense of urgency as she did. In her cinnamon-red blazer and caramel cowgirl boots, she found much-needed confidence. With her chin up, Massie marched through the doors of her school, as if all in her vision belonged to her.

She scanned the room with purpose, watching each group of her peers huddle around whatever toy they could find. Julie spoke with a slender blond woman, who held the tiny hand of Alicia's friend Kristen. Alicia herself was at the center of it all, watching over the others with her arms folded across her chest, as if she were lording over each of her peers.

Massie's eyes bore straight ahead, finding Alicia's glossy braided bun and never leaving it. Out of the corner of her eye, Massie caught a earnest smile and wave from Layne in the dress-up corner, but didn't return them. That would only ruin her focus.

A piercing chocolate stare met Massie's own amber one when Alicia turned her head and accepted Massie's unspoken challenge.

"Hi Massie." Alicia started towards her, her steps as deliberate as her words. "Kristen's mommy isn't letting her play with us anymore, so we need a new member. You're in." Alicia didn't stop walking until she was just a foot in front of Massie, and Massie resisted the urge to take a step back.

"Alicia," Massie returned, attempting to match the girl's articulacy, because as much as she couldn't stand the girl, the way she talked really was admirable. "Are you Steve on _Blue's Clues_?"

"What?" Alicia wondered aloud, caught off guard. "No?"

Massie smiled at her faux-sweetly. "Den why are you acting like you have a clue? I'm a leader and I don't follow people like you." She put her hands on her hips defiantly, in the same way that her mother did when she was trying to make a point.

Alicia opened her mouth, and paused to find words. "Fine." She turned, anxious for any support she could find. She retreated to where Dylan was bustling about in the play-kitchen, her eyes downcast and lips pursed.

Only then did Massie realize that all eyes were on her.

And she loved it.

Later that day, as Massie pulled her lunch out of her cubby, she felt the presence of two girls who were just _a little_ too close for comfort.

"Massie, how did you do dat? We're weally scared o' Alicia, but you showed her! We want to be wike you!" Massie recognized the girls as Kori and Strawberry.

"Thanks," she replied simply as she began to walk off. The two girls trailed behind her, continuing to fight for her attention.

"What should we do to be mo' wike you?" asked Kori.

Massie stopped and turned to face the two girls, who she now realized desperately needed haircuts and to stop buying clothes with cartoon characters on them. "Easy," she told them, trying her best to pronounce each word correctly, just like the grownups do. "Just watch and do exactly what I do."

The next day, Massie counted six girls and one boy wearing brand-new cinnamon red blazers and caramel cowgirl boots. This was her school, and she would fight to keep it that way.


End file.
